Seed-potato cutter



W. C. REYNOLDS.

SEED PoTATo CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED APILZI. 1921.

1,391,505. Patentedsept. 20, 1921.

WILLIAM: C. IREYNOLDS', 0]?A REMS, MICHIGAN.

sEED-ro'rA'ro CUTTER.

' `Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 2o, 1921.

Application filed April 21, 1921. Serial No. 463,107.

'1.'0 allwhom tracy concern.' Y v Be it known vthat I, WILLIAM C. Rier- NoLDs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Remus, in the county of Mecosta andV State of Michigan, have invented. certain Vnew and useful Improvements in Seed- Potato Cutters, of which the following is a specification.v

.The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus by the use of which seed potatoes may be cut into pieces suitable for planting rapidly and with certainty. One object of the invention is toprovide means whereby the potatoes vwill be supported in position to be properly engaged by the knifev and held against slipping when the knife comes into contact therewith and a further object of the invention is to provide means whereby, as the knife is retarded, it will be cleaned of all particles tending-to adhere thereto. `Other objects of the invention will appear incidentallyin the course of the fol-r lowing description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-y y Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail viewy of the knife andthe `combined guard and cleaner therefor.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a supporting frame 1 which may be of any convenient or preferred construction and at one sideV or end of the' frame I erect a standard 2 upon which the knife 3 is pivoted.

Upon the frame, I support a hopper 4 which may have an open side across which the knife 3 is mounted to'v play and along which, at the bottom thereof, is provided a trough 5 in which the potatoes to be cut are received from the hopper. l iently constructed by placing two boards or rails at an angle to each other so that they converge downwardly and have their lower edges slightly separated, as shown at 6, whereby the cutting edge of the knife may pass between the boards or trough members and be thereby enabled to pass entirely through the potatoes. End rails 7 are providedfbelow the bottom 8 of the hopper and are extended beyond the open side thereof so that they furnish firm supports for the rails which constitute the trough. The post or standard 2 projects The trough is convenabove thehopper and may be yutilized as a closure for one end of vthe trough, thisarrangement obviously locating the knife directly in the vertical plane of the trough, as will be readily understood. While the knife may be pivoted to the standard in any desired manner, I prefer to provide a slit 9 in the standard and pivotally secure the end of the knife in vsaid slit. The knife is of .such dimensions that it will extend entire-ly across the open side or front of the hopper and at its free end is equipped with a convenient handle 10. A retractile spring 11 is attached at one end to the standard and at its opposite end to the-blade and tends constantly to hold the blade or knife in its raised position, shown in Fig. 1. To aid in holding the knife to the proper plane for its successfuloperation, I providefa guide 12 which may conveniently bea strip of metal'secured tothe standard or post 2 near the upperend of the same and-extending therefrom in an arched formation over the hopper to the end of the same remote from the standard, and the extremity 12 of this guide is preferably a hinged leaf normally extending into the trough to prevent the potatoes rolling therefrom. When the cut potatoes are manually pushed from the trough, the leaf will yield and permit their discharge, returning to normal position by gravity after the potatoes have passed.

. I also provide a combined guard and cleaner for the knife consisting of a strand wire bent to provide a fork or-yoke 13 fitting over the upperedge of the knifev adjacent to the point at which the spring 11 is attached thereto and this yoke should grasp the sides of the blade closely but with sufficient play to yield to the impact upon the `potatoes in the trough. From thelower ends of the kyoke 13, the wire is carried rearwardly, as shown at 14, and then doubled upon itself and brought forwardly along the blade or knife, as shown at 15, to the handle 10, this formation being duplicated upon the two sides of theknife, as will be readily understood. Adjacent the handle 10, the ends of the wire are bent upwardly so as to lie close to the end of the handle and one extremity of the wire, as shown at 16, is wrapped or twisted around the meeting portion of the wire, after'which the said meeting portion is extended along the upper edge of the knife, as shown at 17, and soldered or otherwise attached to the top of the yoke- 13. This combined guard vand vcleaner should be more or less resilient so that it will fit the knife snugly and will tend con-r stantly to bring its upper longitudinal member 17 to bear upon the back of the knife,

side of the hopper to prevent the potatoes rolling precipitously therefrom. j After thev potatoes have been placed in the hopper, they are crowded to the back thereof and the plate removed. A few potatoes are then fed into the trough and will Vnaturally assume positions with their longer axes disposed longitudinall of the trough. If the knife be then broug t down into the hopper to the position shown in Fig. 2, it will cut through the potatoes and the strands 15 .ofthe guard will bear upon the potatoes so as to prevent rotation thereof and hold them firmly in position to be acted upon by the knife. As the knifecuts through the potatoes, the guards will relatively move upwardly, but, when the knife is released, the spring 11 will Vat once raise the same and the guard will resume its normal position, the knife or blade passing into the yoke end portions of the guard so that the longitudinal strands 15 will be caused to slide relatively over the sides of the knife and remove therefrom all particles of the potatoes which might adhere thereto. As the knife is brought down onto the potatoes, it will be heldV against the edge'ofltheV guide strip 12 and this guide strip is preferablyso arranged that unless the knife be bent out of the'vertical plane of the slit 9 there will be constant contact between the edge of the guide and the adjacent strand 15 of the guard. The frictional engagement between the guide and the guard aids in hold in the guard to its position upon the knife.

y device is obviously simple in the construction and arrangement of its parts and may be yproduced at a low cost. The knife may be operated easily'y and rapidlyf and by its use a large number of potatoes may be cutin a very small period of time.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A seed-potato cutter comprising a hopper havin an open side, a troughV extending along saitgl openV side to receive potatoes therefrom andy having an opening through its bottom, a knife pivotally mounted at one end of the troughand adapted to extend into the opening ofthe bottom ofthe same, and means for yieldably 'holding the knife in a raised position. Y

2. A seed-potato cutter comprising a hopper having an open side, a trough extending along said side to'receive potatoes therefrom,

a post erected at one end of the trough, a

knife pivoted upon said-post and adapted to play in the trough, a retractilespring connected to the knife and to the standard above the knife. Y y

3. A seed-potato cutter comprising a hopper, atrough along one side of the hopper to receivel potatoes therefrom, a knife pivotallyv mounted at one end of the trough andadapted to act Yupon the Vpotatoes inV the trough, and a guard fitted upon the knife to engage the potatoes and-hold the same against rota-v tion as they are acted upon by the knife.

4. A seed-potato cutter'comprising a hopper, a trougharranged to receive potatoes from the hopper, a pivotally mounted knife operating inthe trough, and a guard slidably but snuglyv engaging the sides of the knife and movmg upwardly relative to the knife as potatoes are engaged and downwardly relative to theknife as the knife recedes from the potatoes. f

5. f In a seed-potato cutter, the combinatio of a pivotally mounted knife, and a guard consisting of yokes engaging over Vthe knife atthe ends thereof, and connecting strands extending between said yokes along the back of the knife and at opposite sides of the knife adjacent the cutting edge thereof. l

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM c.v REYNOLDS. [1.7.8.1- 

